A few problems. This will test your knowledge.

1. My headlight is flickering or not working at all on low beam. On high beam it works fine any thoughts?
2. I am having a problem with dry starts. When I crank up in the morning it does not start dry but when I park for a couple hours it has a dry start. Is this because I should change the oil? and also how many miles should i go between oil changes?
3. My right turn signal works fine front and back both blink. But my left turn signal stays solid and only the front light is working.

Who knows the answers?

 

1. - I'd say you have a bad connection somewhere. Either in the headlight switch or it could be the filiment. If the filiment in the bulb is blown, it could be vibrating enough to touch once in a while, hence the flicker. I've seen weirder things happen.

2. What do you mean by dry start? I'm not in with the terminology, I hate to admit.

3. Check your rear bulb. The way a turn signal canister works is there is what they call a bi-metallic strip in it, meaning a strip of metal that is actually made up of two different types of metals. The metals heat up when you supply current to the lights and eventually get hot enough that they separate, breaking the contact. They quickly cool down, snapping the metal back into place, and re-establishing the contact. Rinse and repeat.

If you do not have enough current going through the blinker canister, it may not separate. It happens in certain older cars all the time.

Just my thoughts.

 

1.so first i should try to get a new bulb and see what happens right?
2. when a motor has a dry start you will hear a slight knocking noise for a second like there is no oil in the motor.
3. how would i go about trying to fix the bi-metallic strip.

 

"1.so first i should try to get a new bulb and see what happens right?"
That'd be the simple answer. And having a spare bulb on hand wouldn't really hurt, to tell the truth. If you can get to the contacts of your headlight switch, you could give them a good wiggle and see if your lighting changes. If it does, it's in the switch.

"2. when a motor has a dry start you will hear a slight knocking noise for a second like there is no oil in the motor."
Hey, I'm man enough to say when I'm in over my head. That point has been crossed. Damn.

"3. how would i go about trying to fix the bi-metallic strip."

Check your rear bulb first. The strip is actually in a very small round canister probably under your tank. You can't really "get to it" as the canister is sealed.

~edit~ - You can get to the turn canister, just not inside of it. I just realized how this came out.

More then likely it's your bulb. If the turn can was bad, your right turn wouldn't work, as it's the same can that controls both sides.

Hope this helps, I'm off to bed. Night yo!

 

thanks ill see what i can do

 

Actually, no, not in most of these bikes. They use a Nippon Denso flasher that works by having the current draw of the lamps energize the coil of the normally closed relay that "flashes" the flashers. Basically it uses an RL time contant between the relay coil (which is in series with the flashers) and the filaments of the lamps to set the flash rate. Arguably more reliable than a bimetallic contact system, but probably also more sensitive to changing lamps to other wattages. There's also a second coil wound around the flasher pole piece that's energized by the auto-cancel module.

Cheers,
Paul

 

Ah, I stand corrected then. I always thought the bimettalic strip setup was standard across the board.

"Basically it uses an RL time contant between the relay coil (which is in series with the flashers) and the filaments of the lamps to set the flash rate."

So, in this case, if the current in the lamps changed, say one went out, then you'd loose one of your constants, correct? As in, it's still probably the bulb? Or am I misunderstanding?

 

Yup probably the bulb or connection to it. If you don't have 2 good bulbs - no flash and the working one stays on.

 

You are understanding correctly... the bulb, or the bulb socket, or the wiring.

Personally, I've seen problems with the bulb sockets. They're a bit overcomplicated in how they use a disc and a spring to couple current from the wire to the the contact at the base of the socket. Water that gets in there can oxidize between the disc and the spring. Cure is to open the turn signal, pull the bulb, unscrew the little screws that hold the socket together, pull the socket apart, clean up with a wire brush or sandpaper, spray with a bit of WD-40 to keep moisture out, then reassemble.

 

Also; you CAN remove the cover from the flasher relay itself and clean/adjust the contacts if necessary.

 

Yes, you can, or at least clean the contacts (there's not really anything to adjust), but have you ever needed to do that? Just curious.

 

I cleaned the contacts in mine when it started acting "psychotic" it would quit blinking and then start up again on its own before self cancelling. It seems to have fixed the issue.

"Adjust" in this case=bend. Didn't need to.

 

#1. +1 on the filament vibration. Happens alot to light bulbs, but probably wouldn't go on for long in the vibration rich world of MTCYs. Try a new buld and find out. Can always take it back and say its the "wrong one".

#2. +1 on the whats a dry start?

#3. +1 also. Always start with the easiest. New bulb (or use the one from the other side). Then connections. Blinker box is probably last on the list...

 

thread closed.

 

Thread closed? What was the answer?

 

Yeah seriously! Answers to questions asked maybe??

 

42.
did I win?
:lol:

 

See post below.

 

Great that the bike's fixed, but please share the solutions so that others (assuming they search, which does happen occasionally) can benefit from your experience.

Also nice for us regulars to know what the solutions were.

Cheers,
Paul

 

I knew exactly what you meant by thread closed. What I and the others were looking for was a confirmation on what the solution was so that we can expand our "expertise" in this area.

What we got in return from you was a snide remark. Lucky for you most on here do not hold a grudge and will still be willing to help you with the information we got from more cooperative people seeking help.

 

Ok.

1.Installed new headlight.
2.What I thought were dry starts was actually normal valve train noise.
3.Installed new left rear turn signal.

 

Thanks man. That was easy, now we'll all be better for it.

 

"Here endeth the lesson..."
Thank you for sharing your fixes Jarred, we are all a day wiser now.

 

No, Thank You, Sorry for the misunderstanding.